


gotta rush away, she said

by bookstvnerdlove



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 06:44:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2300234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookstvnerdlove/pseuds/bookstvnerdlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She feels like she's always saying goodbye. First to Phillip, now to Mulan. </p>
<p>Part of an AU drabble meme on tumblr. Requested AU: Going off to war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	gotta rush away, she said

Aurora watches Mulan as she zips her duffel and places it next to her boots at the door – ready and waiting for the other woman to slide onto her feet, and lace them up slowly with wide, sad eyes. She has a lot of practice with goodbyes. First with Phillip, their years together spent in the bright yellow and blue school gymnasiums, banners with athletic accolades hanging from the ceilings expressing cheer and spirit that she never felt, schools that Aurora has long forgotten the names.

(She feels the ghost of hands in her hair, pulling the strands, dragging her face to another’s. She feels the ghost of lips upon hers, soft and firm, heated and gentle. She feels the ghost of hands upon her skin, dragging down the straps of her dress, lifting up the hem of her skirt. She feels the ghost of lips upon her body, teasing with brushes at the swells of her breasts, through the lace of her lingerie.)

She sometimes wonders if it is her destiny always to say goodbye to the people she loves. She had said goodbye to Phillip on a sunny June afternoon, His boots shiny and her heart in her eyes. He had kissed her goodbye in front of their friends and family, his lips soft and eyes sad as he said, “I’ll find my way back to you.”

(She had never seen him again, but she always felt that he had kept his promise anyway. Mulan had rung her doorbell months after they got word, a letter from Phillip and a bottle of wine in her hand. “Phillip loved you so much,” she had said and reached her hand out to grasp Aurora’s, bringing it to her heart. They’d kept in touch through another deployment until one day, months after she’d arrived back home, she’d looked at her, arms flexing while she helped Aurora move into her new apartment, finally leaving Phillip behind her, and she realized that she wanted those arms around her.)

Now Mulan is leaving her too, with a soft hand against her cheek, she says quietly, “It’s probably best if you don’t come.”

Aurora knows that it’s true. Even if  _Don’t Ask Don’t Tell_  is a memory, it’s a fresh one – and there are still enough members of the unit that remember her days with Phillip. She still wants to flounce out the door in defiance and take her girlfriend’s hand in front of God and Country and kiss her goodbye. She wants it all, because then Mulan has to leave and she’ll be alone again, playing the waiting game, waiting for contact, for news, for any hint of life.

(She has her jacket in hand and, even though she nods in agreement, she grips the leather in her hands so tightly it bunches. This is the first time she’s said goodbye since that day, since Mulan had hesitated before heading home, hesitated just enough that Aurora was able to ask her to stay for dinner. This is the first time that she’s said goodbye to Mulan since she had stood in her doorway, heart in her hand, and asked if Aurora wanted it.) 


End file.
